Speaking

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) Project 4656 developed a roadmap for implementing a holistic condition assessment program for water transmission and distribution systems. B&N’s Kevin Campanella will co-present this workshop, which will give attendees an overview of the tools and processes developed and published in Project 4656. Topics to be discussed include:

• Overview of Project 4656 and other WRF condition assessment and planning projects
• Hands-on review of the first data assessment tool developed as a part of this project
• Critical concepts for unitization and cost effectiveness tools
• How to link condition asessment results back into the overall utility planning process

U.S. state governments are responsible for administering the federal Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) Program in their states, which include requirements to develop fiscal sustainability plans (FSP). Many states began formulating and enacting policies related to asset management in reaction to the FSP requirement, while others had already begun. Most of these state policies are very different. With variation in approach, the American Water Works Association (AWWA) sought to evaluate how government asset management policies are working to advance infrastructure asset management practices in the water sector, inclusive of drinking water, stormwater and wastewater.

Working under the direction of an AWWA project advisory committee (PAC), Burgess & Niple, Inc. (B&N) developed case studies highlighting policies that government entities have implemented (or are considering) to improve water utility asset management. Each case study includes a summary of:

• The government entity’s utility-related policies intended to address water infrastructure needs (i.e. documented asset management policy).
• The data and information the entity uses (or plans to use) to assess water infrastructure needs; develop, implement and evaluate the policies; and make funding decisions.

B&N engaged government regulatory bodies in New Jersey, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ontario (Canada) and New South Wales (Australia). Because the 2017 AWWA publication, “Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Programs: Survey of Fiscal Sustainability Plans and Asset Management Requirements,” warned that little data on the impact of asset management policies would be available, additional utilities subject to the regulatory bodies studied were also interviewed to determine how their asset management practices have advanced as the result of policy.

Based on a review of the case studies, the project team provided recommendations for the governing bodies to consider for formulating or enhancing asset management policies.

Join B&N’s Kevin Campanella, Project Manager and member of the AWWA Asset Management Committee for this special session. Attendees will leave with an understanding of the asset management policies of governing bodies, and the recommendations derived from research, to assist them in developing their own asset management policies and programs.

Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility (AWWU) has one of the most mature asset management (AM) programs in the United States with an AM implementation that started well over a decade ago. They have been recognized for their use of global benchmarking for their AM program and were among the first utilities to help develop and pilot the Water Research Foundation Strategic Asset Management Gap (SAM-GAP) AM benchmarking tool. In 2018, AWWU utilized the SAM-GAP analysis tool again to assess its business practices and rekindle discussions of how to become a world-class AM organization. 

Kevin Campanella, Burgess & Niple’s Utility Planning Leader, will discuss how he assisted with the revitalization of the AWWU AM program and what steps utilities can take as their programs mature and initial excitement wanes.